About Nawab Pataudi

Times of India (Friday,23,2011)Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, fondly known as Tiger, one of India's greatest cricket captains, passed away at Sir Ganga Ram hospital on Thursday. He died due to respiratory failure leading to cardiac arrest. He was 70. In an international career spanning 15 years, Pataudi played 46 Tests, scoring 2,793 runs with six Test centuries at an average of 34.91 - all while playing with one good eye. A car accident in July 1961, six months before his Test debut, left the "dazzling" young talent (as cricket magazine Wisden described him) with a severely impaired right eye. No one would ever know what he could have attained with full vision.

But the Nawab of Pataudi still had the eye of the tiger. In his prime, he was a regal middle-order batsman who relished scoring at a brisk pace and hooking the fastest of bowlers. He was also unafraid to step out and play lofted shots against spinners.

Pataudi exuded style off the pitch too: his romance and subsequent marriage to Hindi film heroine Sharmila Tagore remains the biggest union of glamour and sports in modern India. They were India's premier Page 3 couple much before Page 3 happened.

But above all, he was an astute leader of men. Pataudi was thrust into captaincy mid-series against West Indies in 1962 when only five Tests old and 21 years of age after then-skipper Nari Contractor was struck in his head by a Charlie Griffith delivery that nearly killed him.

Pataudi captained India for the next eight years. Under him, India won its first Test series abroad, a 3-1 against New Zealand in 1967-68.

Equally importantly, under his tutelage, the famous Indian spin quartet earned their spurs and honed their craft, although the larger rewards came to his successor Ajit Wadekar. "He was a bowler's captain. And he was always cool under pressure," recalls fellow Test cricketer Abbas Ali Baig.

It was at Pataudi's insistence that the gifted Gundappa Vishwanath got an early break in Tests. A terrific fielder in the outfield, he was one of the first skippers who emphasized the importance of fielding and worked on improving it. Under him, Indian cricket took its first steps towards the modern age.

The Nawab, whose father too played Test cricket, albeit for England, led India to nine victories in 40 Tests. In today's context, such an achievement might appear modest. But as Mihir Bose writes in 'A History of Indian Cricket', "To a nation that for 20 years regarded a draw as a victory, and whose cricket had a certain predictability, he brought the prospect of victory, often unexpected victories, and his captaincy had an element of daring, at times maddeningly unpredictable, so that even when India failed the impression was of having attempted the impossible."

Pataudi also dabbled in politics, though not successfully. After being replaced as India's cricket captain by Ajit Wadekar in 1971, he contested the Lok Sabha polls from Gurgaon. His party was VHP - Vishal Haryana Party. He lost heavily. Even his second innings as a politician - he contested under a Congress ticket for Bhopal Lok Sabha seat in 1991 - was a failure. His mother belonged to the Bhopal royal family.

His association with journalism was more fruitful. For years, he edited the magazine Sportsworld. He also penned his autobiography, 'Tiger's Tale'. Much like his cricket, it was frank and forthright and laced with anecdotes.

Years after retirement, Pataudi retained the aura of a star; his enduring charisma earned him modelling assignments, sometimes with his son, actor Saif Ali Khan. In the photographs, there was no denying he was the bigger and the better-looking star. The Tiger was always burning bright.

Mansoor Ali Khan or Mansur Ali Khan sometimes M. A. K. Pataudi (5 January 1941, Bhopal[1] – 22 September 2011, New Delhi[2]), nicknamed Tiger Pataudi, was an Indian cricketer and former captain of the Indian cricket team. He was the ninth Nawab of Pataudi until 1971, when India abolished royal entitlements through the 26th Amendment to the Constitution of India.[3] Mohamed Mansur Ali Khan was the son of Iftikhar Ali Khan, eighth Nawab of Pataudi and his wife Sajida Sultan, second daughter of the last ruling Nawab of Bhopal. He was born in Bhopal and educated at A.M.U Minto Circle School in Aligarh and then went to Welham Boys' School in Dehradun (Uttarakhand), Lockers Park Prep School in Hertfordshire (where he was coached by Frank Woolley), and Winchester College. He learned Arabic and French at Balliol College, Oxford.[4] His father died while playing polo in Delhi on Mansoor's eleventh birthday in 1952, whereupon Mansoor succeeded as the ninth Nawab of Pataudi. While the princely state of Pataudi had been merged with India after the end of the British Raj in 1947, Mansoor inherited the titular dignity of Nawab of Pataudi. He held the title until the entitlements were abolished by the Government of India through the 26th amendment to the constitution in 1971. [edit]Cricketing career

Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi's career performance graph. Pataudi Jr., as Mansoor came to be known during his cricket career, was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium pace bowler.[5] He was a schoolboy batting prodigy at Winchester, relying on his keen eyes to punish the bowling. He captained the school team in 1959, scoring 1,068 runs that season and beating the school record set in 1919 by Douglas Jardine. He also won the public schools rackets championship, with partner Christopher Snell.[4] He made his first-class debut for Sussex in August 1957, aged 16, and also played for Oxford while he was at university and was the first Indian captain there."King of Indian cricket". The Economist. 1 October 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2012. On 1 July 1961, he was a passenger in a car which was involved in an accident in Hove. A shard of glass from the broken windscreen penetrated and permanently damaged his right eye. The damage caused Pataudi to see a doubled image, and it was feared this would end his cricketing career, but Pataudi was soon in the nets learning to play with one eye.[4][6][7] Despite his eye injury less that 6 months before, he made his Test debut playing against England in Delhi in December 1961.[4] He found it easiest to play with his cap pulled down over his damaged right eye. He scored 103 in the Third Test in Madras, helping India to its first series win against England.[8] He was appointed vice-captain for the tour to the West Indies in 1962. In March 1962, Mansoor became captain of the Indian cricket team after the sitting captain Nari Contractor was ruled out of the Fourth Test in Barbados due to an injury sustained by Contractor batting against Charlie Griffith in a tour match against Barbados.[7] At 21 years and 77 days, he held the world record for the youngest Test captain until he was surpassed by Tatenda Taibu in May 2004. As of 2011, he remains the youngest Indian Test captain.[9] He played in 46 Test matches for India between 1961 and 1975, scoring 2,793 runs at a Test batting average of 34.91, including 6 Test centuries.[5] Mansoor was captain of the Indian cricket team in 40 of his 46 matches, only 9 of which resulted in victory for his team, with 19 defeats and 19 draws. His victories included India's first ever Test match win overseas against New Zealand in 1968. India went on to win that series, making it India's first ever Test series win overseas.[10] He lost the captaincy of the Indian cricket team for the tour to the West Indies in 1970-1, and did not play Tests from 1970 to 1972. He returned to the India side captained by Ajit Wadekar in 1973, for the Third Test against England, and captained India against West Indies in 1974-5, but was finally dropped as a player in 1975. Between 1957 and 1970 Mansoor, following his countrymen Ranjitsinhji and Duleepsinhji, played 137 first class matches for Sussex County Cricket Club scoring 3,054 runs at an average of 22.29.[11] He captained Sussex in 1966. In India, he played first-class cricket for Delhi in the North Zone until 1966, and then for Hyderabad in the South Zone. He was an Indian Cricket Cricketer of the Year in 1962, and a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1968. He published an autobiography, Tiger's Tale, in 1969. He was the manager of the India team in 1974-5, and referee for two Ashes Tests in 1993.[12] He was later a member of the council of the Indian Premier League. In 2007, in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of India's Test debut, the Marylebone Cricket Club has commissioned a trophy for Test match series between India and England which was named the Pataudi Trophy in honour of his father, the 8th Nawab. [edit]Personal life

On 27 December 1967, Mansoor married actress Sharmila Tagore, great-grandniece of Rabindranath Tagore. They had three children: Saif Ali Khan, a Bollywood actor, born 16 August 1970; Soha Ali Khan, a Bollywood actress, born 4 October 1978; Saba Ali Khan, a jewellery designer. Mansoor Ali Khan was a Free Mason.[13] In June 2005, Mansoor Ali Khan was arrested for poaching Blackbuck deer, a protected species in India.[14] He was released on bail after two days in jail.[15] His uncle was General Sher Ali Khan Pataudi, and his first cousin, Nawab Shahryar Khan, was the former Foreign Secretary of Pakistan. His cousin Major General Isfandiyar Ali Khan Pataudi, son of Sher Ali Khan Pataudi, is the commander of the 26th Mechanized Infantry Division of Pakistan Army. [edit]Death

This section requires expansion. (October 2011) Pataudi was admitted to New Delhi's Sir Ganga Ram Hospital on 22 September 2011 with an acute lung infection. The infection was caused by chronic interstitial lung disease which prevented his lungs from exchanging oxygen properly [10] The same day he died of respiratory failure.[10][16] His body was buried at Pataudi near Delhi[17] on 23 September 2011. His funeral was attended by large number of film actors, directors and producers, as well as cricketing fraternity. [edit]Awards